SCHOOL DEPARTMENT 



Edited by ALICE HALL WALTER 



Address all communications relative to the work of this depart- 

 ment to the editor, at S3 Arlington Avenue, Prcnidencc, R. I. 



THE VALUE OF COOPERATION 



In no work, i)ossibly, is the spirit of cooperation more quickly productive 

 of results and of more value to those engaged in it than in that of the Audubon 

 Society. There is a contagion about bird-study which takes hold of both old 

 and young, a contagion that spreads rapidly and does not die out easily. 

 The following letter from Wilmington, North Carolina, illustrates very 

 aptly how pleasantly and readily children and grown-ups may be brought 

 into touch by a common interest in birds. The benefits of such cooperation 

 are felt more often than seen, perhaps, but they are of lasting value. 



A Bobolink Society in the South 



The Society was not organized until February, but we have been much 

 interested in birds since October. Each day or so, we have told in class about 

 birds observed and watched by members of the class. Pleasing accounts 

 have been given about Wrens, Song Sparrows, Thrushes, and many other 

 kinds of birds. Thirty-two boys have been most interested in birds this winter, 

 and have protected them in every instance. 



Last December the school had exercises on Carolina Day, in which 

 our room took part. As our part was about birds and trees, you may be inter- 

 ested in it, since the idea originated with the Audubon Society. 



The thirty-two boys (of the Bobolink Club) represented trees. Nineteen 

 girls represented birds. Around each child's neck was strung a placard, 

 bearing the name of a tree or bird. These names were painted in large letters. 



First, Henry Abbey's What Do We Plant When We Plant a Tree? was 

 given in concert. Then each boy came forward and told in a sentence the uses 

 of his tree. The girls next took part and gave in concert the motto of Bird- 

 Lore: "A bird in the bush is worth two in the hand." Each girl came forward 

 in turn and gave the call or cry of a bird, and then all the children repeated 

 the call. One boy could whistle perfectly like a House Wren and a Song 

 Sparrow, so he helped the girls with these two birds. The calls were found in 

 Dr. Van Dyke's book and the album published by the Chicklet Chewing Gum 

 Company. 



This simple little exercise was liked by the public. When Civic Day was 

 being observed in the Academy of Music, the ladies of the Sorosis Club asked 



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